How's your memory? Er…what were we talking about?

Everybody over a certain age is worried about it: losing your memory. But there is help. Sharpen your wits by remembering facts about these memory aids.

Short answers.

1. Spencer Silver developed a 'solution without a problem'. Five years later, Art Fry 'stole' the solution – a low-adhesive glue – to make a Clever Thing. And it's a memory aid. What is it?
2. Drawing a map of ideas can help you remember. What's the word for these drawings with circles and lines? (It's a bit creepy.)
3. You can use h2g2 or other online places to build up your memory. What do you call those tricky puzzles people pose to stimulate your thinking?
4. Can't find your way around town? (I can't, and I don't have memory problems, just a lousy sense of direction.) It's relatively cheap, it's electronic, and it's way irritating. What is it?
5. Most people keep their most important reminders here: calendars, notes, grocery lists, you name it. Where is this important place in your home?
6. The ancients used this technique, too. It's a mnemonic device, like 'My Very Eager Miss Jones Slipped Upon Nancy's Potato' to remember the planets. (Don't talk to us about Pluto.) What did the ancient Romans call this sort of memory trick? In Latin or English, doesn't matter.
7. Back in the 15th Century, you will recall, memory techniques really impressed people. They sometimes got suspicious when somebody's memory was too good. Petrus de Ravenna came under suspicion for having too much memory. What did they accuse him of?
8. The ancient Greeks and Romans – yes, and Sherlock – use this mnemonic technique, also called the 'method of loci'. What do we call it?
9. One way to practice the locus technique is to play a memory game involving a trayful of objects. What do we usually call this game, and why?
10. You want to sell Chevrochrysler cars. You put a very pretty girl on the car in your advert. What are you trying to get people (well, okay, men) to do with their memories?

Did you remember all that? Good for you. Want a memory check? Click the picture for answers.

Dmitri Gheorgheni

29.02.16 Front Page

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